The PCCRC was established in February 2000 to improve knowledge about the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea through research and education, focusing on the commercial fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

The Center provides: (1) grants to faculty and research stipends to graduate students for research on pollock, other groundfish species, the fisheries for these species, and on marine mammals; (2) funding for marine education, technical training, and equipment; and (3) funding for research in the area of marine resource economics.

Through the end of 2017, the PCCRC has put over $16.6 million into marine research and education at the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and is the largest philanthropic contributor to marine research at the University of Alaska.